Grave Digger is a 1950 Chevrolet Panel Van monster truck owned by FELD Motorsports and created by Dennis Anderson. First built in 1982, Grave Digger became popular in the mid-80's for its spooky-themed paint scheme and Dennis’ wild driving style. FELD and the Andersons’ workshop, Digger's Dungeon, maintain and operate the six Grave Digger trucks that are currently competing in Monster Jam events not only in the United States, but around the world.
Grave Digger is arguably the most famous monster truck of all time and has become a cultural icon of the sport; being considered Monster Jam’s flagship truck and inspiring two spinoff trucks: Grave Digger the Legend and Son-uva Digger respectively. Grave Digger has also competed at every Monster Jam World Finals event since its inception, with the team taking 14 championships over the years.
History[]
1982[]
Dennis Anderson built Grave Digger 1 as a mud racing truck using a red 1951 Ford pickup truck. The name came from a smack-talking session he had with his rivals: "I'll take this old junk and dig you a grave with it."
At first, the truck was not painted at all and utilized its original weathered gray paint and rust as the design. Dennis would spray paint the name in black on the truck for its first events and later would switch to a red primer paint scheme with professional yellow lettering.
1984[]
Anderson rebuilt the truck as a true monster truck, replacing the red pickup body with a 1951 Ford panel van body with a blue and silver paint scheme. This design would inspire Grave Digger the Legend, which debuted 26 years later in 2011.
1985[]
The iconic "spooky" paint scheme, inspired by 1950's horror comics, debuted after Anderson commissioned his friend Fred Bumann to paint it.
1986[]
Dennis Anderson started racing monster trucks full time. The truck became very popular, despite not enjoying the sponsorship of trucks like Bigfoot (which was sponsored by Ford).
1988[]
Dennis would score his first major victory in Saint Paul, Minnesota, against Bigfoot.
1989[]
Anderson debuted a new truck, Grave Digger 2; the body switched from the 1951 Ford panel van to a 1950 Chevrolet panel van, which has been used for all subsequent Grave Diggers ever since (except for Grave Digger 17). GD 1 was then driven by Dennis' brother, Leslie. Construction on Grave Digger 3 was also started during this year.
1990[]
In the winter, the first four-link suspension Digger, GD 3 was completed by Gary Porter. In the same year, Grave Digger 4 was completed for use by Jack Koberna on the west coast. GD 4 used an older King Krunch chassis, and a new Leafer frame was built and GD 2's old racing gear was used on Grave Digger 5, as the new ride for Les.
The first Grave Digger display truck: the street-legal Grave Digger 6, was also introduced.
1991[]
Lyle Hancock joined the team, and began driving GD 3.
GD 5 retired, making it the shortest lived Grave Digger chassis. The truck was later converted into a permanent display inside of Digger’s Dungeon, where fans could sit inside the rollcage. The frame was sold to Chris Mormanis in 2007.
Late into the year, Dennis broke a kneecap after hitting a wall in Rosemont, Illinois, causing him to miss the 1992 winter season, leading Hancock to replace him for the time being.
1992[]
Grave Digger 7 and Grave Digger 8 were created with Lyle Hancock driving and Robert Parker sharing driving duties.
Doug Spanier would drive the truck at a show in Virginia, becoming the first ever fill-in driver for Grave Digger. Black Stallion driver Michael Vaters also drove the truck in Atlanta.
During a race at Louisville Motor Speedway, Dennis’ truck side-slapped a wall, he ended up cracking several of his ribs near his back, which has caused recurring problems through his career since it has been aggravated by crashes in New Orleans in 1999 and again in 2001 at an independent show in Bloomsburg.
1993[]
Grave Digger first appeared on USHRA Monster Wars, where the truck was represented by a grim reaper mascot.
In Tampa while racing Carolina Crusher, the truck landed weird and when Dennis turned, the rear end was completely separated.
That same year, Pablo Huffaker ran Jack Koberna's old GD 4 body on his Jus' Show N Off chassis for 10 shows, causing it to be mislabeled as such, while it was actually the ninth truck on the fleet. He drove this truck across the United States together with Anderson's. As a result, GD 4 was retired and later sold, and now runs as Mr. Big.
1994[]
The first Grave Digger ride truck, Grave Digger 9 was built.
In the summer, GD 2 was extensively modified to be used for a 4th of July charity stunt where Dennis drove it across the Currituck Sound, effectively earning the nickname the "Sound Digger".
1995[]
Pablo Huffaker built Grave Digger 10 which would replace his old unofficial GD chassis, which currently runs as the Warrior ride truck. Grave Digger appears in "There Goes a Monster Truck" in Salt Lake City, Utah driven by Pablo. At year’s end, Hancock left the team.
1996[]
The second ride truck of the fleet, Grave Digger 11 and remained mainly in Wildwood, NJ while 9 remained at the Dungeon, with Cliff Thomas giving many of the rides. GD 9 would later be sold to Jake Blackwell and currently runs as Extinguisher.
In February, Eldon DePew drove the truck in Houston.
1997[]
Grave Digger 12 would debut and become Anderson's main truck. Due to the elongated body to fit the chassis, the paint job was updated; adding purple mist, more details to the graveyard setting, and the logo was changed to be horizontally placed to take up more space.
1998[]
Scott Hartsock filled-in for Robert Parker in Nashville, Tennessee for show 2. Parker left the team by year’s end.
Virginia Beach incident[]
Prior to the Monsters at the Beach event in Virginia Beach, Virginia, GD 11 would be involved in an incident where the truck rolled over while there were 12 passengers inside, nobody was killed but many were injured.[1]
1999[]
Robert Parker was replaced by former Excaliber owner/driver Charlie Pauken, who later sold his team. Dennis was injured during a crash in New Orleans, Louisiana, leading to Todd Frolik being placed behind the wheel of GD 12 later in the year. Despite that, Anderson would win the USHRA points title that year. In Uniondale, Gary Dell'Abate, more commonly known as “BabaBooey”, drove GD8 as an exhibition.
Sale to PACE Motorsports[]
Dennis sold the Grave Digger name and shares to PACE Motorsports[2] (which is now defunct, and all existing IPs are under the ownership of FELD Motorsports since 2008). This was mainly due to him struggling financially following the incident mentioned above. Prior to the sale, Dennis sold GD 11 to Don Magrini, who converted it into Thrill Seeker. Despite no longer owning the truck, Dennis remained its primary driver.
In the summer, Tom Meents drove GD 12 in Englishtown, New Jersey, which is seen as ironic as at that time, Monster Jam was building a mock rivalry between Tom and Dennis, when in reality, they both worked for the company and technically, he was driving a company truck.
In November, GD 3 was converted into WCW Nitro Machine, then later multiple identities until being retired in 2006. The chassis is now owned by Jimmy Durr, who converted it into a mud truck named Slag Hag.
2000[]
Anderson drives a rebuilt GD 7, which was nicknamed "Grave Digger 13" due to the truck’s constant mechanical issues throughout the season.
In February, Frolik left the team and was replaced by Norm Miller as the driver of GD 12.
Despite the rough season, Anderson competed at the inaugural Monster Jam World Finals and won the freestyle championship with a score of 40, the highest and only perfect score in Monster Jam World Finals history. Afterwards, Anderson moved to Grave Digger 12 for the rest of the year.
In June, former Sting driver Sky Hartley, would drive the truck at Speedway 95 in Hermon, Maine.
2001[]
Former Carolina Crusher driver Gary Porter joins the team, which saw a few more changes:
- Pauken moved to GD 7
- Schmidt moved to GD 8 after Miller left the team
- Huffaker stays in GD 10
- Anderson debuts Grave Digger 14
- Porter takes over as the driver of GD 12
In January, Todd Frolik returned to fill-in for Dennis in Indianapolis.
In February, Little Tiger owner Brian Barthel filled-in for Dennis at the Sunday show in Rosemont, Illinois after his back was hurting. At World Finals II, Dennis went after Goldberg on the semi-trailer but crashed, leaving too much time on the clock.
Dennis Anderson and other Grave Digger trucks start to appear in 4-Wheel Jamboree events, along with Goldberg. In Englishtown, New Jersey, Tom drove Grave Digger again.
At the end of the year, GD 10 retired and would be converted into Radical Rescue.
2002 (20th Anniversary)[]
Grave Digger celebrated its 20th Anniversary. Dennis would campaign a special body while everybody else had roof decals.
Scott Pontbriand joined the team to drive GD 8, while Pauken debuts the new Grave Digger 15, and Huffaker debuts Grave Digger 16, both running a Racesource chassis.
Dennis would later be invited to compete at World Finals III where he would finish second in freestyle.
Later that year, Grave Digger 17 debuts as a dragster.
2003[]
Pure Adrenaline owner Randy Brown joins the team and debuts Grave Digger 18, and Jason Childress started driving for the team to drive GD 14 jointly with Pontbriand.
Early in the year, Anderson would be injured in New Orleans leading Ricky Ownley to fill-in for him in Houston. He initially recovered before getting his hand crushed in an elevator, leading to Jim Koehler replacing Dennis in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
At World Finals IV, Pablo Huffaker would replace Anderson but would drive his chassis.
GD 8 retired at year’s end.
2004[]
Anderson debuts Grave Digger 19, the first truck designed by Paul Cohen.
At World Finals V, Dennis won his first racing championship, taking out fellow teammate Pablo Huffaker driving Blacksmith.
Childress and Pontbriand left the team at year’s end.
2005[]
Carl Van Horn replaced Pontbriand to drive GD 14.
In March, despite Jason Childress having left the team to drive Bulldozer, he still drove the truck in Richmond, Virginia.
At World Finals VI, Dennis made it into the final round of racing, only to lose to Debra Miceli driving her Madusa truck.
In September, Aaron Basl drives the truck for Huffaker in Lancaster, California due to him returning home to survey damage caused by Hurricane Rita.
GD 7 is retired and made a permanent display at Digger’s Dungeon.
In December, Dennis debuted Grave Digger 20 along with a new paint scheme that was later dubbed “Green Ghost”.
2006[]
Chad Tingler replaced Van Horn and took over the reins of GD 14 and Rod Schmidt took over GD 19 after Dennis moved to GD 20.
At World Finals VII, Dennis won his second racing championship, defeating Jimmy Creten in Bounty Hunter.
In December, Dennis broke his wrist in Minneapolis from a weird landing during his qualifying run, sidelining him for the entire winter season.
2007 (25th Anniversary)[]
Grave Digger celebrated its 25th Anniversary; however Dennis wouldn’t take part due to his injury. As a result, Adam Anderson would fill-in for his father for the season, even winning freestyle in his debut show driving GD 20. Rod Schmidt took over GD 18 as Randy moved to GD 19.
In March, Alex Blackwell drove the truck in Prescott Valley, Arizona.[3]
At World Finals VIII, Dennis returned to run a hand-painted, chrome body at the event, where he would make it into the final round of racing, only to lose to John Seasock in Batman; he would get second place in freestyle to teammate Pablo Huffaker who was debuting Captain's Curse.
Grave Digger starts to appear in other 4-Wheel Jamboree events.
2008[]
At World Finals IX, Dennis set a then-record racing time on Vegas-style (which was later broken in 2016), and his son would win the freestyle championship driving Taz.
In May, Dennis and the truck would be featured on History Channel’s “America’s Toughest Jobs”, and was filmed in Salinas, California.[4]
This would also be the last year that Grave Digger competed in 4-Wheel Jamboree Events, due to the transfer of Monster Jam from Live Nation to FELD Entertainment in September of that year; FELD would begin pulling their trucks from most independent events soon afterwards.
2009[]
GD 15 retired after Charlie Pauken debuted Grave Digger 22 which was converted from John Seasock’s Batman chassis.
In March, Alex Blackwell drove the truck again in Grand Rapids, Michigan.[5]
At World Finals X, Dennis was eliminated in round 1 of racing by Damon Bradshaw, marking the first time since 2001 that he had been eliminated in round 1 at the World Finals (Grave Digger was eliminated in Round 1 at World Finals IV, but was driven by Huffaker).
2010[]
Gary Porter continued to drive GD 12 and began competing on the Freestyle Mania tour until 2012.
At World Finals XI, Dennis won the team's fourth world championship by winning racing for third time, defeating Tom Meents in Maximum Destruction. Teammate Charlie Pauken won his first and only world championship in freestyle driving Monster Mutt on GD 22. For the encore, the prototype for Grave Digger the Legend would debut during the encore under Adam Anderson. A make-shift "Red Primer" Grave Digger would also make an appearance, driven by Ryan Anderson.
In June, GD 14 is retired due to a crash in Philadelphia.
2011[]
Three new Grave Digger trucks debuted:
- Carl Van Horn returned to the team to debut Grave Digger 23
- Chad Tingler debuted Grave Digger 24
- Gary Porter debuted Grave Digger 25
On top of that, two spin-off trucks of Grave Digger made their debuts this year: Grave Digger the Legend driven by Adam Anderson, and Son-uva Digger driven by Ryan Anderson. The Legend was based off of the blue and silver GD design that ran from 1984-1985, while Son-uva Digger was based off of Ryan’s mud truck of the same name. GD 12 would be converted into a second Legend truck and would be driven by Tony Farrell until March when the chassis was retired in March.
At World Finals XII, Dennis would blow the engine of his GD 20 truck in racing leading him to drive GD 24 in freestyle, Son-uva Digger made its debut in the encore with Ryan driving, where he would execute what was at that time, the cleanest backflip performed.[6]
In June, Pauken would fill-in for Dennis in Philadelphia, due to him taking part in the History Channel series Around the World in 80 Ways.
The same year, Grave Digger raced against the Shockwave jet trucks at several NHRA Nitro Jam events until 2012, with Randy Brown was behind the wheel for the majority of these races.
In September, Grave Digger made an appearance in Englishtown, New Jersey[7], which would mark the final time that a Grave Digger competed at a non-Monster Jam sanctioned event.
2012 (30th Anniversary)[]
Grave Digger celebrated its 30th Anniversary. Dennis runs two special 30th Anniversary bodies for the year, one purple and one green. Both designs featured the "Grim" mascot face in place of the classic ghost mountain scene and would display Dennis' four championships on the roof of the truck. The main fleet would run standard, modified Grave Digger bodies with a "3" being added in front of the moon/haunted house scene.
Van Horn would suffer an injury part-way through first quarter, with Daron Basl, Jon Zimmer and Paul Cohen filling-in for him. Daron Basl would perform Double Duty, driving his El Matador truck and Grave Digger in the same weekend in Portland, Oregon.
In Lexington, a makeshift Grave Digger 25.5 was used on a fleet chassis as a last minute fill-in and was driven by Cohen.
The Pure Adrenaline ride truck (the original GD 11) would be sold to FELD Motorsports after having been a War Wizard ride truck, which was Thrill Seeker before then. In a full-circle moment, the chassis was converted the chassis back into a Grave Digger ride truck which currently runs today.
At World Finals XIII, chrome versions of both of Dennis' schemes would appear; green for racing and purple for freestyle. The bodies would include 3D Grave Digger logos and Grim faces with LED lights in the eyes. The Grave Digger team would also parade down the Las Vegas Strip in a display featuring 9 Grave Digger trucks (one of which being the replica of the original “red primer" Grave Digger 1). A make-shift "Grandma" Grave Digger body, which was based on the first “spooky” paint scheme, would make its first of three appearances during the 30th anniversary encore.
During the Path of Destruction tour, Anderson attempted his (and the truck’s) first backflip in Philadelphia.[8]
2013[]
Jon Zimmer officially joined the team full time and drove the new Grave Digger 26. Rod Schmidt also moved to Monster Mutt Rottweiler, retiring GD 18.
The truck would compete at World Finals XIV, where Adam would compete in Grave Digger the Legend and win the racing championship.
In December, GD 20 retired following the final Monster Jam event at the HHH Metrodome.
2014[]
Four new Grave Digger trucks were unveiled:
- Charlie Pauken debuted Grave Digger 27 to replace GD 22
- Pablo Huffaker debuted Grave Digger 28 to replace GD 16
- Randy Brown debuted Grave Digger 29 (in December) to replace GD 19
- Dennis Anderson debuted Grave Digger 30 to replace GD 20
In January, Marc McDonald would fill-in for an injured Charlie Pauken in Indianapolis.
The truck would compete at World Finals XV for the final time as the sole Grave Digger in the lineup, losing to Adam in the semi-finals round in racing who would go on to win his third championship. Dennis placed 30th in freestyle alongside Madusa; damaging the front axle after attempting the LeDuc Leap.
In July, GD 19 was retired and later scrapped.
In December, Porter left the team and returned to Carolina Crusher, where he would drive until his retirement in 2017. Colton Eichelberger joined the team to replace Porter in GD 25.
2015[]
Pauken in GD 27 competed in the Fox Sports 1 Series, and Eichelberger in GD 25 competed in the More Monster Jam tour. Charlie finished 4th in his series while Colton finished 2nd.
Both drivers received automatic bids to World Finals XVI along with Dennis Anderson, which marked the first time that more than one Grave Digger would compete in the main field in Monster Jam World Finals since its inception; a tradition that continues to the modern day.
Also at World Finals XVI each driver received alternate paint schemes to distinguish each driver:
- Dennis would drive with the normal paint scheme
- Colton’s paint scheme featured a purple background as opposed to the normal black
- Charlie’s paint scheme featured a green background and purple flames.
In April, Charlie used the green body again for the Team Grave Digger vs Team Bad Boys shows in Ocala, Florida. Meanwhile, BJ Johnson drove the truck in Fresno, California.
During the Path of Destruction Tour, Steve Byrnes, a former Monster Jam announcer for TNN, who passed away on April 21, 2015, was written on Dennis Anderson's tombstone.
In October, Adam Anderson drove the truck for the Australian Tour.
In November, Adam was announced to join the Grave Digger team through a skit,[9] thus retiring Grave Digger the Legend. Dennis and Tom would also trade drivers; Morgan Kane (Who was a life-long friend of the Anderson family) joined team Grave Digger, and Colton Eichelberger (Who was Meents’ stepson) joined the Max-D team.[10]
2016[]
Adam Anderson debuted Grave Digger 32, which was converted from his GDTL chassis, and would compete in the Fox Sports 1 Championship Series.
Chad Tingler left the team and was transferred to Alien Invasion early in the year, retiring GD 24.
Dennis would debut a new chrome paint scheme for GD 30, replacing the black background with chrome.
Adam's long-time crew chief Cole Venard also joined the team and competed in the AMSOIL Series series with Grave Digger 31 along with Kane in GD 25 which they would eventually win.
At World Finals XVII, four Grave Diggers competed and received differing paint schemes similar to the previous year:*Venard’s paint scheme featured purple flames
- Morgan’s paint scheme featured orange flames
- Dennis drove the chrome paint scheme he had driven up to that point
- Adam drove the normal Grave Digger scheme.
Kane won the racing champion, while Adam Anderson won freestyle, both in their Grave Digger trucks.
World Finals XVII controversy[]
Adam’s freestyle victory was controversial, as many fans claimed that the use of multiple Grave Diggers was an unfair advantage for the team, while others claimed that Adam's freestyle run was over-scored. These complaints likely contributed to the implementation of JudgesZone.com the following year, which later proved to be even more controversial.
That same year, Adam restored GD 2 to working order, using as many original parts as possible. The restored truck is currently on display at Digger's Dungeon.
2017 (35th anniversary)[]
Grave Digger celebrated its 35th anniversary. Unlike in past anniversaries, the 35th anniversary’s design consisted of just a roof decal, which disappointed fans. Morgan Kane debuted Grave Digger 33 to replace GD 25.
Krysten Anderson made her Monster Jam debut along with debuting Grave Digger 34 on Triple Threat Series Central, making her the first full-time female Grave Digger driver.
Zimmer left the team to drive Dragon, leading former Blue Thunder driver Tyler Menninga joined the team and took over driving duties for GD 23.
Grave Digger competed on every tour (except for Arena Championship Series 6)
- Adam competed on Fox Sports 1 Championship Series East
- Morgan competed on Fox Sports 1 Championship Series West
- Dennis was slated to compete on Stadium Championship Series 3, before being sidelined (read below)
- Charlie competed on Stadium Championship Series 4
- Krysten competed on Triple Threat Series Central
- Tyler competed on Triple Threat Series East
- Cole competed on Triple Threat Series West in GD 31
- Pablo competed on Arena Championship Series 4
- Randy competed on Arena Championship Series 5
Dennis’ retirement[]
On January 14th, in the first stop on Stadium Championship Series 3 in Tampa, Dennis would suffer a career-ending injury after a failed backflip attempt. The cage crushed in, giving Dennis head injuries. He was taken to a hospital[11] and eventually recovered[12], however during the freestyle; he suffered a hard landing which ruptured a main artery in his pancreas due to him not being fastened correctly. Carl Van Horn and Jon Zimmer filled in for the rest of his tour.
In a video before the 35th anniversary encore at World Finals XVIII, Dennis himself started that he is not done yet but will no longer compete at the World Finals, quoting: "Last year's World Finals was the last time I will compete in, but I'm not going anywhere."[13] making World Finals XVII his final last appearance in the event.
Despite hopes of a comeback, Dennis announced during the 2018 Monster Jam Season Kickoff on September 18th, his full retirement from driving, however stated that he will remain behind the scenes and in the pits.[14]
Rest of the year[]
Adam, Morgan, Tyler and Cole would all be invited to compete at the World Finals XVIII. However, Cole left the team just before the World Finals, while he didn’t give a reason at the time, he later revealed that he left to take care of his newborn daughter, thus Randy Brown took his place at said event, he would later return to the sport, driving The Black Pearl in 2018. Krysten Anderson would also receive an invite, but she would compete in the Double Down Showdown.
This year (and every year until 2023), all of the Grave Diggers would run the standard paint scheme and instead run flags with each's driver's name on them to help fans differentiate between the five trucks. The makeshift "Grandma" Grave Digger, a modified Grave Digger the Legend (without "the Legend") wording and the chrome Grave Digger would return during the 35th anniversary encore, each driven by Krysten, Adam and Ryan respectively.
In June, Adam won the first ever two-wheel skills competition in Foxborough.
In December, Adam debuted Grave Digger 35 in Minneapolis.
2018[]
Adam Anderson takes over as the main driver due to Dennis’ retirement. Former Son-uva Digger crew chief Brandon Vinson joined the team to drive GD 30, and Menninga moved to GD 32 after GD 23 retired.
Grave Digger competed on all 8 Monster Jam tours:
- Adam competed on Stadium Championship Series 1 in GD 35
- Charlie competed on Stadium Championship Series 2 in GD 29
- Morgan competed on Stadium Championship Series 3 in GD 33
- Randy competed on Stadium Championship Series 4 in GD 31
- Krysten competed on Triple Threat Series West in GD 34
- Tyler competed on Triple Threat Series Central in GD 32
- Brandon competed on Triple Threat Series East in GD 30
- Pablo competed on the Arena Championship Series in GD 28
In January, Carl Van Horn filled-in for Kane in Tampa after his wife gave birth to a newborn daughter.
Pauken and Kane would win their respective stadium champion series while Menninga won his Triple Threat tour, all earning themselves invites to World Finals XIX. Adam Anderson won the racing championship against fellow teammate Tyler Menninga. Trucks would once again run driver's flags instead of special paint schemes to the dismay of fans.
In May, Huffaker announced his retirement after his final event in Florence, South Carolina.
In July, at the Saturday night Halifax, Nova Scotia show, Randy Brown recorded the highest-winning score since the Judgeszone.com scoring system was implemented, scoring a 9.986 in freestyle. (The record stood until 2024, when it was beaten by Blake Granger in Max-D at show 1 in San Jose, Costa Rica. Blake would win the skills challenge with a 9.998)
On October 12th, Menninga debuted Grave Digger 36 as the replacement for GD 32.
On November 30th, Brown debuted Grave Digger 37 in Santiago, Chile. GD 37 would stay overseas and be used for displays, one notably with Cynthia Gauthier. Also on that day, Kane debuts Grave Digger 38.
Both GD 28 and GD 30 retired at year’s end: GD 28 currently serves as a display, and GD 30 was later stripped and is now a display at the “Rust in Piece” exhibit at Digger’s Dungeon.
2019[]
Once again, Grave Digger competed on every tour:
- Brandon moved to GD 31 and competed on Triple Threat Series Central
- Morgan stayed in GD33 and competed on Stadium Championship Series 1
- Krysten stayed with GD 34 and competed on Triple Threat Series East
- Adam stayed in GD 35 on Stadium Championship Series 2
- Tyler moved to GD36 and competed on Triple Threat Series West
- Charlie moved to GD 38 and competed on Stadium Championship Series 3
- Randy debuted Grave Digger 39 and competed on the Arena Championship Series
Early in the year, Grave Digger 40 debuts as the third Grave Digger ride truck and the first since GD 11.
Luke Burbank drove the truck in Tampa for an exhibition, doing a few laps around the arena. He also visited Digger's Dungeon, Digger's Diner & talked with Dennis Anderson.
Adam, Brandon, Randy and Tyler won their tours, earning them all automatic bids to World Finals XX in Orlando, Florida; the first Monster Jam World Finals to be hosted outside of Sam Boyd Stadium in Las Vegas, Nevada since its inception.[15][16] Although Pauken wasn't invited, he would debut Grave Digger Fire for the racing encore as a promotion for that year’s upcoming All-Star Challenge in Las Vegas, Nevada.
In August, GD 8 was cleaned up and now serves as a display at Monster Jam Thunder Alley in Cedar Park.
At the first Monster Jam All-Star Challenge in October, Pauken once again runs Grave Digger Fire for Team Fire while Adam and Tyler also run for Team Fire with standard Grave Digger bodies. Meanwhile, Krysten debuts Grave Digger Ice as a member of Team Ice.
In November, Vinson would debut Grave Digger 41, in San Juan, Puerto Rico.
2020[]
The team remains unchanged:
- Adam competed on Stadium Championship Series Red
- Morgan competed on Stadium Championship Series Green
- Charlie competed on Stadium Championship Series Yellow
- Tyler competed on Triple Threat Series East
- Brandon competed on Triple Threat Series West
- Krysten competed on Triple Threat Series Central
- Randy competed on the Arena Championship Series
Tyler once again wins the Triple Threat Series East tour, earning him a spot in Monster Jam World Finals XXI; the original event was later canceled because of the COVID-19 pandemic but would return in 2022. Charlie, Brandon, and Randy would also be declared champions of their respective tours as they were in the points lead for each when the pandemic canceled the remainder of the season.
In August, Krysten, Adam and Ryan would all participate in the Monster Jam Breaking World Records special event. Krysten driving GD 34 would set the Guinness World Record for highest monster truck leap at 33.2 ft., Adam in GD 35 with the longest wheelie at 624 ft.
2021[]
Due to a very limited schedule, most of the drivers are put on hold. Krysten continues driving Grave Digger, while Adam is temporarily transferred to Megalodon.
Krysten and Adam both compete in the lone Stadium Championship Series with Krysten driving her Grave Digger and Adam driving Megalodon. Krysten would end up finishing in last place at the end of series and Adam would finish in third place in Megalodon. Menninga runs the “Arena Tour” with Adam as a touring partner of sorts, and Vinson would even run a few arena events.
In February, Dennis Anderson was inducted into the Monster Jam Hall of Fame, and would take his final lap around Camping World Stadium in Orlando, Florida driving GD 36 with its classic zoomie-style headers.
In June, a Grave Digger-sponsored NASCAR Ford Mustang driven by Kevin Harvick debuts as a Father's Day present from his son, Keelan Harvick. Kevin drove it at the inaugural Ally 400 at Nashville Superspeedway on June 20 and would finish 5th in the race.
Adam returned to GD 35 at Indianapolis on June 12th. He proceeded to win the freestyle at Indianapolis event 1 by 0.014 points (9.513 to Linsey Read's 9.499), the Indianapolis event 1 overall championship by virtue of freestyle tiebreaker and won racing in Indianapolis event 2.
After Glendale, Adam would return to Grave Digger and Krysten would go back to driving in arena events.
After the pandemic, the team had shrunk:
- Charlie Pauken left the team to drive Monster Mutt on Stadium Series Yellow in 2022.
- Randy Brown was relegated to a part-time driver and later retired.
- Morgan Kane retired from driving and now works for Team Penske.
2022 (40th anniversary)[]
Grave Digger celebrates its 40th anniversary, and every Digger truck runs a modified 40th anniversary paint scheme for it, similar to the fleet 30th design. The trucks also debut purple bead locks exclusive to anniversary bodies, likely as a tribute to Huffaker's Grave Digger chassis, after week 4 (previously the trucks ran the classic green bead locks).
Dennis’ youngest son, Weston Anderson would make his monster Jam debut, driving GD 33, before moving to GD 37 after a wreck retired GD 33.
- Adam drove GD 35 on Stadium Series Red
- Tyler Menninga made his first quarter stadium debut, driving GD 39 on Stadium Series Yellow
- Brandon moves to GD 36 and drives on Arena Championship Series West
- Weston drove GD 33, later GD 37 on Arena Championship Series East
- Krysten moves to GD 41 and drives on Arena Championship Series Central
The Grave Digger trucks would dominate their arena tours and win their respective series, with Krysten Anderson notably becoming the first (and so far, only) female driver to win a Monster Jam points series championship. Weston completely dominated his tour in only his rookie season.
In April, it was announced that the original Grave Digger chassis would be restored, except for the body for sentimental reasons since the original painter had since passed away. The truck now sits in the "Rust in Peace" Museum in Digger's Dungeon.
All competing Grave Digger trucks, including Son-uva Digger, would be invited to Monster Jam World Finals XXI in Orlando, Florida; the first Monster Jam World Finals in two years since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. Brandon Vinson would win the racing championship over Ryan Anderson in Son-Uva Digger in one of (if not the most) incredible racing finals in history due to the torrential downpour that occurred during the race.
Randy Brown would drive Grave Digger for the London show, before semi-retiring.
In October, Brandon Vinson drove GD 29 in Santo Domingo, and on the Australian tour, where he would create a new move called the "Tombstone" in Sydney where the truck would hit the backflip ramp and perform a stoppie/moonwalk off of it. Adam would later attempt the move in Houston, Texas, but would be unsuccessful.
Tyler Menninga drove GD 27 in Tampere, Finland, Arnhem, Holland, and in San Juan, Puerto Rico. In the first event at Tampere, Menninga recorded the lowest winning scores in both the two-wheel skills challenge and freestyle competitions, scoring a 5.494 and 5.444, respectively (The record stood until 2024, when Chelsea VanCleave in El Toro Loco scored a 0.472 in the skills challenge in Munich, Germany).
2023[]
The team remained the same:
- Adam competed on Stadium Red Tour
- Tyler competed on Stadium Blue Tour
- Weston competed on Arena Championship Series East
- Brandon competed on Arena Championship Series Central
- Krysten competed on Arena Championship Series West
Meanwhile, Matt Cody drove the truck on the international tour, but would fill-in for Brandon Vinson in Cleveland, Ohio.
Every driver (minus Krysten Anderson) won their respected tour, with all 5 of them receiving an invite to World Finals XXII in Nashville, Tennessee, it was announced on Monster Jam's social media pages that each Grave Digger truck would run a different scheme for the event for the first time since 2016:
- Weston drove an orange ghost and flame scheme
- Krysten drove a pink ghost and flame scheme
- Brandon drove a red ghost and flame scheme
- Tyler drove a purple ghost and flame scheme
- Adam drove the standard scheme
Weston and Tyler would both be invited to compete in the two-wheel skills championship; Tyler would later win the championship with a score of 7.126. Only Adam Anderson finishes within the top 8 fastest qualifiers, but he and Menninga fall in round 1. Krysten, Weston and Adam Anderson all lose their round 2 races with Brandon Vinson being the only Grave Digger truck advancing as far as the quarter-finals. After returning as the fastest-loser (since John Gordon and Bad Company blew a drive shaft), he would fall short to eventual racing champion Tristan England in EarthShaker.
In Los Angeles, Tyler completed seven and a half revolutions during a sidewall donut save in the two-wheel skills challenge in show 3, matching the unofficial record held by Ryan Anderson from East Rutherford, New Jersey in 2022.
In September, Bari Musawwir fills-in for Krysten in Rosemont, Illinois becoming the first African American to ever drive Grave Digger.
In November, Tyler would compete on Team Nitro and Adam Anderson competed on Team Neon for the Superstar Challenge in Anaheim. Despite Tyler winning all 3 events, Team Nitro lost the overall as Team Neon was more consistent. Adam also completed a reverse backflip for the best trick competition.
2024[]
At first, the team stayed the same:
- Adam competed on the west stadium tour
- Tyler competed on the east stadium tour
- Krysten competed on the east arena tour
- Weston competed on the central arena tour
- Brandon briefly competed on the west arena tour until March.
Matt Cody was slated to continue driving on the international tour, until Brandon Vinson suddenly retired in March to focus on his construction business. Cody would fill-in for him from Oklahoma City onwards.
In January, Krysten would score a 1.000 in the donut contest in Baltimore, Maryland on Friday night. [Baltimore, MD |CFG Bank Arena | Jan. 19-21, 2024 | Monster Jam®]
In March, Ryan Anderson drives his brother’s truck in Albuquerque. Charlie Pauken returns to the team to fill-in for Adam in Arlington, El Paso, and Birmingham. He would also drive Matt's truck in Hamburg, Germany, in Zurich, Switzerland since Matt was driving Brandon's truck in the United States. Adam Anderson would eventually return to competition in Nampa after his injury. Tyler Menninga fills in for Matt in Fresno since he was originally scheduled to compete in the international tour, making him a fill-in for a fill-in driver, which is rare.
In April, Coty Saucier drove the truck in Lincoln, Nebraska since Matt Cody was competing on the international tour. Weston would win both event championships on his birthday in Hamilton, Ontario.
In, May, Weston won freestyle at the 2nd show in Southaven, Mississippi with a 9.998, tying the highest score ever with Blake Granger from San Jose.
Adam, Krysten, Weston, Tyler were all invited to compete at World Finals XXlll in Los Angeles. Matt Cody also was invited for winning the Arena West championship, however gave Dalton Widner the automatic bid to the World Finals as he believed he didn’t deserve it since he inherited Vinson’s points. Each driver drove the same paint scheme that they did at World Finals XXII. Tyler makes his high jump debut in the World Finals and would win the freestyle championship. At the awards ceremony, Weston won the Arena Two Wheel Skills award, Tyler won the Stadium Two Wheel Skills award, and Adam won the Donut of Year award.
The truck makes an appearance in a Kane Brown & Marshmello 'Miles On It' music video.
In June, Ryan tied Adam's score of 9.651 in freestyle for the win in Kansas City. This was the first time a tiebreaker was used since the JudgesZone scoring system was introduced. Ryan got the tiebreaker win after going to the 4th number after the decimal.
In the summer, Pablo Huffaker's Grave Digger 28 would be used for displays at various Walmart's to promote the relaunch of the Fire & Ice series.
On June 30th, GD35 retired after its final show in Lexington, Kentucky.
In August, at one of the arena shows in Orlando, Tyler's truck had Monster Jam logos on the tires, along with the BKT letters. The truck featured a holographic design for Monster Jam Showdown. The Fire, Ice, purple & orange version also are in the game.
In October, Grave Digger 42 is currently slated to debut in Glendale.
2025[]
The team will stay the same:
- Adam will once again compete on the West stadium tour
- Tyler will once again compete on the East stadium tour
- Weston will compete on the West arena tour
- Krysten will once again compete on the East arena tour
- Matt will compete on the Central arena tour
Drivers[]
Current drivers[]
- Adam Anderson (Jan-Feb. 2007, 2015 Australian Tour, 2016-present)
- Krysten Anderson (2017-present)
- Tyler Menninga (2017-present)
- Weston Anderson (2022-present)
- Matt Cody (2023-present)
Former/temporary drivers[]
- Dennis Anderson (1982-2017)
- Les Anderson (1989-1992)
- Jack Koberna (1990-1991)
- Lyle Hancock (1991-1995, 2000)
- Robert Parker (1992-1999)
- Pablo Huffaker (1993-2018)
- Ron Nelson (1996)
- Bennett Clark (1997)
- Charlie Pauken (1999-2021. March 2024)
- Todd Frolik (1999-2000, Indianapolis 2001)
- Norm Miller (2000-2001 fill-in)
- Rod Schmidt (2000, 2002-2012)
- Scott Pontbriand (2001-2004)
- Gary Porter (2001-2014)
- Randy Brown (2003-2022)
- Jason Childress (2003-2004, Richmond 2005)
- Carl Van Horn (2005, 2011-2016, 2017-2018)
- Chad Tingler (2006-2015, 2016 fill-in)
- Jon Zimmer (2013-2016, 2017 fill-in)
- Colton Eichelberger (2015)
- Cole Venard (2016-2017)
- Morgan Kane (2016-2020)
- Brandon Vinson (2018-2024)
Temporary/fill-in drivers[]
- Doug Spanier (Virginia 1992)
- Michael Vaters (Atlanta 1992)
- Terry Woodcock (1995, drove Pablo's truck)
- Eldon DePew (Houston 1996)
- Scott Hartsock (Nashville 1998, show 2)
- Tom Meents (Englishtown 1999 & 2001)
- Joe Payne (Unknown, 1999)
- Sky Hartley (Bangor 2000)
- Brian Barthel (Rosemont 2001, Sunday)
- Ricky Ownley (Houston 2003, show 3)
- Jim Koehler (Philadelphia 2003)
- Aaron Basl (Lancaster 2005)
- Alex Blackwell (Prescott Valley 2007 & Grand Rapids 2009)
- Ryan Anderson (Word Finals XI, XIII, XVIII encores, Philadelphia 2019, Albuquerque 2024)
- Paul Cohen (Oakland and Fresno 2012)
- Daron Basl (Portland 2012)
- Marc McDonald (Indianapolis 2014)
- BJ Johnson (Fresno 2015)
- Bari Musawwir (Rosemont 2023)
- Coty Saucier (Lincoln 2024)
Exhibition[]
- Gary "BabaBooey" Dell'Abate (Uniondale 1999, Grave Digger 8)
- Debra “Madusa” Miceli (1999 testing, Grave Digger 9)
- Ricky Carmichael (2004?, Grave Digger 16)
- John Seasock (Cardiff 2007 Promotional, Grave Digger 18)
- Heather Williams (2008 Digger's Dungeon, Grave Digger 15)
- Conan O’Brien (Los Angeles 2012 TV Segment, Grave Digger 22) He would smash a small camper trailer.
- Luke Burbank (Tampa 2019 for CBS Sunday Morning)
Chassis list[]
There have been over forty versions of Grave Digger to date (though there is no official Grave Digger 13, due to superstition regarding the number's unluckiness).
| Chassis | Debuted | Retired | Maker | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Grave Digger 1 | 1982 | 1990 | Custom-built by Dennis Anderson | Originally built in 1982 as a mud racing truck. It was rebuilt in 1985 as a true monster truck. After many years of deterioration, it was semi-restored. A replica of the "red primer" mud truck and blue/silver 1951 Ford panel van were built in 2012 and 2022 respectively and are now on display in the Rust in Peace museum at Digger's Dungeon in North Carolina alongside the original Grave Digger 1. It is nicknamed "Grandma" by the team. |
| Grave Digger 2 | 1989 | 1994 | Leaf-spring truck built in 1989 and the first to use the 1950 Chevrolet Panel Van body. The body was soon replaced with a fiberglass replica. Retired after a bad crash in late 1990 broke the frame. It was rebuilt with a new frame and the original steel body in 1994 to allow it to cross the waters of [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Currituck_Sound Currituck Sound] in North Carolina as part of a charity stunt. It was restored in 2016, and is now on display in the Rust in Peace museum at Digger's Dungeon. It is nicknamed the "Sound Digger" by Dennis. | |
| Grave Digger 3 | 1990 | 1999 (as Grave Digger) | Built in 1991 as the first tube-frame, four-link suspension Grave Digger. Converted into [[WCW Nitro Machine]] chassis in 1999, and was run under multiple identities during the early-mid 2000's, most notably [[Inferno]] until 2006. The chassis is currently owned by [[Jimmy Durr]]. It has been converted yet again into [[Slag Hag]]. | |
| Grave Digger 4 | 1991 | Custom-built by Jack Koberna | A leaf-spring chassis with fiberglass body run from 1991 to 1993 by [[Jack Koberna]] as a west coast franchise of Grave Digger. [[Pablo Huffaker]] [[Grave Digger (Just Show'N'Off)|reused the body]] on his second [[Jus' Show N Off]] truck when he first began running as a Grave Digger driver in mid-1993, leading some to misidentify Huffaker's truck as Grave Digger 4, even though he started driving for the Digger team after the debut of Grave Digger 8. The chassis currently runs as Mr Big. | |
| Grave Digger 5 | 1991 | 1992 | Custom-built by Dennis Anderson | Built in 1991, Grave Digger 5 was a leaf-spring truck that used a new frame with some running gear and the fiberglass replica body originally used on Grave Digger 2, leading to some confusion regarding its status. The chassis was later used as a walk-in display at Digger's Dungeon from 1996-2007. The chassis is now in the posession of Chris Mormanis. It is disputed whether Grave Digger 5 should be considered its own chassis or not, despite the fact that the frame was specially built for it and Grave Digger 2 never moved from its Currituck chassis. |
| Grave Digger 6 | unknown | A street-legal display truck. Parts were reused for Ryan Anderson's mud-bogger. Currently runs as the [[Old Number Six]] mega truck. | ||
| Grave Digger 7 | 1992 | 2005 | A four-link suspension Grave Digger. Driven by Dennis Anderson from 1992 to 1996. Revamped in 2000 by Dennis, after which it was nicknamed "Grave Digger 13" (although no official #13 existed); he'd win freestyle at that year's inaugural Monster Jam World Finals. Driven by Charlie Pauken from 2000 to 2001. Rod Schmidt from 2002 to 2004, and Chad Tingler in 2005. It now resides outside Digger's Dungeon, parked on its nose. | |
| Grave Digger 8 | 2003 | A four-link suspension Grave Digger driven by Robert Parker in the latter half of the 1990's, Charlie Pauken in 1999, Rod Schmidt in 2000 and Scott Pontbriand from 2001 to 2003. Retired from competition, it became apart of an exhibition in the [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Museum_of_Science_and_Industry_(Chicago) Museum Of Science And Industry] in Chicago, Illinois. Restored in 2019, and has since been used as a display truck in [[Monster Jam Thunder Alley]]. | ||
| Grave Digger 9 | 1994 | 2004 | The first Grave Digger ride truck that was built in 1994. It was sold and is now the [[Extinguisher]] ride truck. | |
| Grave Digger 10 | 1995 | 2001 | Custom-built by Pablo Huffaker | A four-link suspension Grave Digger built and driven by Pablo Huffaker from 1995-2001. It also ran as [[Radical Rescue]] from 2002-2004. |
| Grave Digger 11 | 1996 | Active | Custom-built by Dennis Anderson | The second Grave Digger ride truck built in 1996. It ran as [[Thrill Seeker]], [[War Wizard (Ride Truck)|War Wizard]], and [[Pure Adrenaline (Ride Truck)|Pure Adrenaline]], then was converted back to Grave Digger ride truck in 2012. The truck has since been running by FELD Motorsports to this day. |
| Grave Digger 12 | 1997 | 2010 (as Grave Digger) | A four-link suspension Grave Digger. It was driven by Dennis Anderson from 1996 to 2000, Todd Frolik and Norm Miller in 2000, and Gary Porter from 2001 to 2010. Most well-known for the longer wheelbase. It also ran as Grave Digger the Legend under Tony Farrell in 2011 before it was retired. | |
| Grave Digger 14 | 2001 | 2010 | PEI | A four-link suspension Grave Digger. It was driven by Dennis Anderson from 2001-2003, as well as Jason Childress and Scott Pontbriand from 2003-2004, Carl Van Horn in 2005, and Chad Tingler from 2006-2010, when it was retired due to extensive chassis damage. |
| Grave Digger 15 | 2002 | 2009 | Racesource | A four-link suspension Grave Digger. It was driven by Charlie Pauken from 2001 to 2008. |
| Grave Digger 16 | 2013 | A four-link suspension Grave Digger built and driven by Pablo Huffaker from 2002 to 2013. | ||
| Grave Digger 17 | 2002 | Dragster | Alan Pittman's pro modified drag racer, which ran a Grave Digger paint job as part of a sponsorship. | |
| Grave Digger 18 | 2003 | 2012 | PEI | A four-link suspension Grave Digger. It was driven by Randy Brown from 2003-2007 and Rod Schmidt from 2008-2012. |
| Grave Digger 19 | 2004 | 2014 | Cohen | A four-link suspension Grave Digger and the first Grave Digger chassis designed by Paul Cohen. It was driven by Dennis Anderson from 2004-2005, Rod Schmidt in 2006, and Randy Brown from 2007-2014. Notable for its black rims and silver bead locks. Retired in 2014, and scrapped by 2016. |
| Grave Digger 20 | 2005 | 2013 | A four-link suspension Grave Digger. It was driven by Dennis Anderson from 2005-2013, arguably most successful truck for Dennis. Dennis won nine straight stadium racing events and two Monster Jam World Finals racing championships in the chassis. Retired after 2013. | |
| Grave Digger 21 | PEI | Grave Digger Experience truck. Only has two wheels, and transported via a semi-truck trailer. Guests can climb into the cab of the truck and watch a video presentation.<ref>https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nCajS8Gqwns</ref>Continues to be operated by Feld Motorsports at select events (typically Monster Jam World Finals). | ||
| Grave Digger 22 | 2009 | 2013 | Originally debuted as [[Batman]] in 2006. Became Grave Digger 22 and was driven by Charlie Pauken from 2009-2013. It would be driven as Monster Mutt at World Finals XI and win the freestyle championship under Pauken. It was retired shortly after 2013 and later repurposed as a training truck for Monster Jam University. | |
| Grave Digger 23 | 2011 | 2017 | Built in 2010 and was driven by Carl Van Horn from 2011-2016. Revamped in 2017 and driven by Tyler Menninga, and retired by year's end. | |
| Grave Digger 24 | 2015 | A four-link suspension Grave Digger. Driven by Chad Tingler from 2011-2015. The truck retired and was later repurposed as a training truck for Monster Jam University, but has since been scrapped. | ||
| Grave Digger 25 | 2016 | A four-link suspension Grave Digger. Driven by Gary Porter from 2011-2014, Colton Eichelberger in 2015, and Morgan Kane in 2016; Kane would win the racing championship at Monster Jam World Finals XVII with this chassis, and retired at year's end. | ||
| Grave Digger 26 | 2013 | 2016 | Was built in 2012 and driven by Jon Zimmer from 2013-2016. It later became his second [[Dragon]] chassis and retired after 2016. | |
| Grave Digger 27 | 2014 | 2018; 2022 | CRD | A CRD chassis built in 2013 driven by Charlie Pauken from 2014-2018. It was reused in 2022 for international events, driven by Tyler Menninga. |
| Grave Digger 28 | 2018 (competition) | Racesource | Racesource chassis built and driven by Pablo Huffaker from 2014 to 2018. Retired from competition in May 2018 when Huffaker himself retired. It's now a display piece, traveling with the Spin Master trailer/mobile display to promote the relaunch of the Fire & Ice series. It is displayed at various Walmart's throughout the Summer of 2024. | |
| Grave Digger 29 | Occasionally run | Cohen | Cohen chassis built in 2014 and debuted just before 2015. Driven by Randy Brown until 2017. Currently serves as a backup Grave Digger and is used on international tours. | |
| Grave Digger 30 | 2018 | A Cohen chassis that debuted in 2014. It was driven by Dennis Anderson from 2014-2017 up until his retirement. Revamped in 2018 and driven by Brandon Vinson for that year; it was retired shortly after. The rollcage was stripped and is now displayed at the Rust in Peace museum in Digger's Dungeon. It has been nicknamed "The Last Ride" by Dennis. | ||
| Grave Digger 31 | 2016 | 2019 | A Cohen chassis driven by Cole Venard from 2016 to March 2017. Taken over by Randy Brown for the 2018 season, and then driven by Brandon Vinson for 2019. Retired after damage sustained at World Finals XX. | |
| Grave Digger 32 | 2016 (as Grave Digger) | 2018 | A Cohen chassis originally built in 2014 as the second [[Grave Digger the Legend]] chassis. Driven by Adam Anderson from 2016-2017. Tyler Menninga drove it until the end of 2018, where it'd be subsequently retired. | |
| Grave Digger 33 | 2017 | 2022 | A Cohen chassis driven by Morgan Kane from 2017-2020. It was returned to competition by [[Weston Anderson]] as his debut chassis. It was retired in 2022 after Weston crashed the truck in Hampton, Virginia and damaged the chassis beyond repair. | |
| Grave Digger 34 | CRD | A CRD chassis, driven by Krysten Anderson from 2017-2021. It sustained significant chassis damage in Glendale, Arizona, placing the chassis on hiatus for the first quarter of 2022 for repairs. It returned to competition at Monster Jam World Finals XXI freestyle under Adam Anderson. | ||
| Grave Digger 35 | 2024 | Cohen | A Cohen chassis unveiled at SEMA in 2017. It was primarily driven by Adam Anderson from 2017-2024. | |
| Grave Digger 36 | 2018 | CRD | A CRD chassis driven by Tyler Menninga from October 2018-2021, and by Brandon Vinson from 2022-2024. It would be used by Dennis Anderson during his ''final lap'' for the Class of 2020 induction ceremony at the [[Monster Jam Hall Of Fame]] event in Orlando, Florida in 2021. The chassis hasn't run since Brandon's retirement, leaving the chassis' future uncertain. | |
| Grave Digger 37 | Active | A CRD chassis that Randy Brown debuted in South America events in 2018. The chassis was used for overseas displays and competition. After the retirement of Grave Digger 33. It is currently driven by Weston Anderson since 2022. | ||
| Grave Digger 38 | A CRD chassis that Morgan Kane debuted in late 2018 arena events. It was driven by Charlie Pauken from 2019-2020 and by Randy Brown in 2022. Matt Cody took over driving in 2023 in international events. Made its star appearance in the music video, "Miles On It" by Kane Brown and Marshmello on May 28, 2024. It is currently driven by Matt Cody. | |||
| Grave Digger 39 | 2019 | A CRD chassis that Randy Brown debuted for the 2019 Arena Championship Series. It is currently driven by Tyler Menninga since 2022. | ||
| Grave Digger 40 | The third and newest Grave Digger ride truck built in 2019. Notably ironic for its absurdly large hood while also being numbered Grave Digger XL. | |||
| Grave Digger 41 | A CRD chassis that Brandon Vinson debuted in San Juan, Puerto Rico, in 2019 and ran for the 2020 Triple Threat West series. Krysten Anderson took over driving it in 2021 following the retirement of Grave Digger 34 (which would eventually return to competition for freestyle at Monster Jam World Finals XXI). | |||
| Grave Digger 42 | 2024 (slated) | A CRD chassis under construction, it is set to debut at the Q2 Glendale show in October as the replacement for Grave Digger 35, and will be driven by Adam Anderson. | ||
Other trucks[]
| Truck | Notes |
|---|---|
| Huffaker's unnumbered Grave Digger | From 1993-1995, Pablo Huffaker first began driving for the Grave Digger team as part of a 10-show deal. He initially used the chassis from his second Jus' Show N Off truck with the fiberglass body from Grave Digger 4, which had been run by Jack Koberna under a similar deal. The truck lacks a true Grave Digger number, though it has been misidentified as #4 because of its use of #4's body, and as GD 5, as there was confusion regarding the relationship of #5 to #2 (Grave Digger 5 reused parts from #2 after #2 was retired, but was in fact a separate chassis frame.) This, despite Pablo's debut as a Grave Digger driver, came after the debut of Grave Digger 8. This chassis later ran as Terraduster for a while, then as Problem Child and finally as Dave Radzierez's Hushpower Diesel truck. It currently runs as a ride truck called Warrior. |
| [[Grave Digger's Boneyard Shuttle]] | A temporary repaint of [[Sam Sturges|Sam Sturges's]] [[Kool Bus]], themed to match the team. |
| [[K'nex Grave Digger]] | A display truck built entirely out of [[K'Nex|K'nex]] pieces, based on the green 30th Anniversary design. Mainly featured in pit parties throughout 2012.<ref>https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cWa5ZRauTtI</ref> |
| [[Grave Digger 20.5]] | In 2011, Dennis drove a Grave Digger body on the Grave Digger the Legend chassis for an exhibition. |
| [[Grave Digger 25.5]] | A black FELD chassis piloted by [[Paul Cohen]] in the [[Lexington 2012|2012 Lexington]], Kentucky shows. The originally scheduled Grave Digger truck was unable to appear at the event due to scheduling changes. |
| NASCAR Ford Mustang #4 Grave Digger | A special Grave Digger-themed NASCAR livery driven by Kevin Harvick for Stewart-Haas Racing at the inaugural Ally 400 at Nashville Superspeedway on June 20th, 2021. |
Designs[]
| Design | Description | Picture |
|---|---|---|
| "Red primer" mud truck | Original Grave Digger body from 1982-1983, made out of a 1951 Ford F-1 pickup truck that reportedly cost $500. Its first paint scheme was a weathered gray color with natural rust and a hand-painted black spray paint logo by Dennis Anderson. It was then painted with its famous red primer paint color and professional yellowing lettering shortly after its debut.
Replicas of this design have appeared in the Monster Jam World Finals XI and Monster Jam World Finals XXI encores, though these were full-sized monster trucks rather than smaller, mud-bogging trucks. A proper replica also appeared in the Monster Jam World Finals XIII encore and is now on display at the Rust in Peace Museum at Digger's Dungeon. |
|
| Blue/silver panel van
(Nicknamed: 'The Legend') |
The second Grave Digger body from 1984 and the first to use a 1951 Ford panel van. At the time, most farm vehicles in the area were blue and silver, so Dennis received the paint scheme for free as a result. This design has been replicated many times in the past. It has made several appearances at Monster Jam World Finals encores (XI, XIII, XVIII, XXI) and later became the base the design for Grave Digger the Legend. A replica of the blue/silver Grave Digger is now featured at the Rust in Peace museum in Digger's Dungeon. | |
| "Spooky" paint scheme | Conceived by Dennis' friend Fred Bumann in 1985, this is the longest-lasting and most recognizable Grave Digger design. While the major hallmarks of it have largely remained the same (green fog, tombstones with trucks' names on them, haunted house with a full moon, horse-drawn carriage, dead tree, skull-like ghost head, bloody logo, green hood flames, and red headlights); the details of it have greatly changed over the years.
In 1989, the body changed from a 1951 Ford panel van to a 1950 Chevrolet panel van. In 1997, the paint job was revised, with the addition of purple mist and a horizontal logo. In the modern era, each Grave Digger is painted by Jim McShea at Feld Studios and uses a stencil layout. Prior to stencils being used, each design of the ghost would be different since it was freehanded. A new roof resign was introduced in 2008, with green flames, a stacked Grave Digger logo, "Bad to the Bone" and artwork of either the "Grim" mascot or ghost (as of 2020 only Grim is used). Before then, the truck usually ran a blank roof with the "Bad to the Bone" quote. |
Part-time or Anniversary designs[]
| Design | Description | Picture |
|---|---|---|
| 20th Anniversary | Run by Dennis Anderson in 2002 to celebrate Grave Digger's 20th anniversary, this design was painted directly over a standard Grave Digger body and featured several tombstones with images of the truck from previous years, as well as a unique logo. During the 20th anniversary season, the standard design Grave Diggers would run the 20th anniversary decal on their roofs. | |
| "Green Ghost" | An alternate version of the regular design, in which the gray/purple ghost has been replaced by a bright green one with red eyes (hence the name). This design also featured a graveyard with wispy green flames, a special roof design, and a unique flame pattern on the hood. This design was introduced alongside Grave Digger 20 at Minneapolis 2005, and mainly run throughout 2006 and 2007. It's most famous for its appearance at Monster Jam World Finals VII, where Dennis would win the racing championship. In 2007, it would also run 25th anniversary ribbons on the side panels as well as a "2006 Racing Champion" decal on its roof before being retired. It has been nicknamed "Seaweed" Grave Digger by the Anderson family. | |
| 25th Anniversary | For the 2007 season, two separate designs were created to celebrate Grave Digger's 25th anniversary:
|
|
| 30th Anniversary | For the 2012 season, three new designs were run to celebrate Grave Digger's 30th anniversary:
A replica of the chrome purple body appeared in the Monster Jam World Finals XXI freestyle encore under Jon Zimmer, where it would be partially destroyed by Adam Anderson after his encore stunt. Originally was thought to be body used by Dennis in 2012, but it was revealed that Jim McShea repainted new bodies to reflect modern sponsors (such as Spin Master) in the tombstones. The grim faces used on the replica would also be tinted gold instead of chrome. |
|
| "Grandma" | A replica of the original 1985-1998 graveyard design, exclusively used for the 30th, 35th, and 40th Anniversary encores at the Monster Jam World Finals. It's been run by Charlie Pauken on Grave Digger 22, Krysten Anderson on Grave Digger 34, and Tyler Menninga on Grave Digger 39, respectively. It reuses Grave Digger the Legend's body mold. | |
| Monster Jam World FInals XVI | As the first Monster Jam World Finals event to feature multiple drivers representing the same identity, Charlie Pauken and Colton Eichelberger would run two special Grave Digger schemes, while Dennis ran the regular one.
|
|
| Chrome | A special variation of the regular Grave Digger design, with a chrome body. Dennis would run this design throughout the 2016 season. The body would return under Ryan Anderson on Grave Digger 30 at the Monster Jam World Finals XVIII Grave Digger 35th anniversary encore. | |
| Monster Jam World Finals XVII | Similar to Monster Jam World Finals XVI, Morgan Kane and Cole Venard would run two new Grave Digger designs, while Dennis ran the chrome body and Adam ran the regular one.
After this event, no unique Grave Digger designs would be made for the next four Monster Jam World Finals. Each driver would run the standard design, but with driver name flags to differentiate. |
|
| 35th Anniversary | No special design was run to celebrate Grave Digger's 35th anniversary, aside from a roof logo. According to Adam, special bodies for Monster Jam World Finals XVIII were planned but never came to be. There were three different roof designs:
|
|
| Fire & Ice | As part of the new Fire & Ice team element introduced in 2019, Grave Digger became the only truck to represent both teams:
|
|
| 40th Anniversary | Throughout 2022, a modified version of the regular design was run to celebrate Grave Digger's 40th anniversary. It first debuted during the 2022 Monster Jam Season Announcement. A special logo replaced the normal one (the same logo present on Dennis's 30th Anniversary designs, this time with a white outline), and a "40th Anniversary" logo replaced the haunted house and full moon of the standard design. Additionally, it featured a special roof design with a tombstone reading "40th Anniversary" and a Grim mascot head. Like the 35th anniversary, the 40th anniversary roof design would not feature the "Bad to the Bone" quote. Starting in week 4, all Grave Digger trucks would run purple bead locks for the rest of the year, as opposed to the usual green color. | |
| Monster Jam World Finals XXII | For the first time since 2016, several recolored versions of the standard Grave Digger design were run at Monster Jam World Finals XXII in Nashville, Tennessee. While Adam ran the regular design, all four other drivers had different-colored flames, ghosts, rims and flags:
All the schemes (minus Brandon's design) would return for the following World Finals in Los Angeles, California. |
|
| Nitro | A blue, green, and pink recolor of the standard Grave Digger design, first released in 2023 under the Nitro Neon line. It appeared in the Superstar Challenge as part of Team Nitro. Tyler Menninga would win all 3 competitions. |   Grave Digger Nitro run on Grave Digger 39, driven by Tyler Menninga. |
| Neon | A green, blue and orange recolor of the standard Grave Digger design. It appeared in the Superstar Challenge as part of Team Neon. Adam Anderson would successfully complete a reverse backflip during the best trick competition. |   Grave Digger Neon run on Grave Digger 35, driven by Adam Anderson. |
Miscellaneous[]
| Design | Description | Picture |
|---|---|---|
| "Grim" / Dennis Anderson's Grave Digger | A Hot Wheels concept toy, first released in 2004. This design prominently featured the "Grim" mascot character on both sides, as well as several ghosts, some unnamed tombstones, the haunted house, and a unique version of the Grave Digger logo, featuring Dennis Anderson's name above it. The roof had a skull and crossbones-style version of Grim, as well as a "Bad to the Bone" logo. The 2006 and 2007 releases had a chrome body. It is unknown if either version of this design was ever planned to be made in real life. Both pieces of Grim mascot artwork would later appear on the real-life truck's roof over the years. | |
| Halloween | A Hot Wheels concept toy, released in 2015 as a Monster Jam Superstore exclusive. This design featured a pumpkin patch in place of the graveyard; each pumpkin has a truck's logo carved into it. Additionally, the ghost has a jack-o-lantern face, a scarecrow is present, the Grim mascot is carved into a pumpkin on the roof, the flame color was changed to purple and a witch is flying over the haunted house. Only 5,000 units were produced. It is considered the rarest of the Halloween series trucks.
|
|
| Zombie | A Spin Master concept toy, first released in 2020 under the Zombie Invasion/Zombie vs. Hunter line. This design had a red and toxic green color scheme and depicted several zombies trudging through a graveyard. This design also featured a red, screaming, zombified-version of the regular ghost, as well as blood instead of flames. While it was stated in late 2019 that two trucks from this line would be made in real life, none of them ever came to reality at all.[18] | |
| Galaxy | A Spin Master concept toy, first released in 2021 under the Gears and Galaxies line. This design had a purple and blue color scheme, includes stars all around the paint scheme, and depicts the classic graveyard on the moon (instead of Earth) as well as the Earth instead of the full moon in the background. No trucks from this line were made in real life, aside from Monster Mutt Dalmatian Galaxy. | |
| Surf | A Spin Master concept toy, first released in 2022 under the Earth vs. Surf line. This design had a light blue color scheme and depicted a shipwreck in place of the graveyard. Nicknamed "Wave Digger" by fans. |
Monster Jam World Finals appearances[]
| Year | Driver | Results | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1993 | Dennis Anderson | defeated in round 1 by Bear Foot (disqualified for a red-light violation) | ||||||
| 1994 | defeated in round 1 by Wildfire | |||||||
| 1999 | defeated in the semi-finals by Carolina Crusher | |||||||
| 2000 | Qualifying: N/A | Racing: defeated in round 2 by King Krunch | Freestyle: 1st (40) | |||||
| 2001 | Qualifying: 6th (17.22) | Racing: defeated in round 1 by Blacksmith | Freestyle: 2nd (36) | |||||
| 2002 | Qualifying: 4th (16.69) | Racing: defeated in the semi-finals by Team Meents | Freestyle: 2nd (36) | |||||
| 2003 | Pablo Huffaker | Qualifying: 3rd (17.21) | Racing: defeated in round 1 by Maximum Destruction | Freestyle: 11th (20) | ||||
| 2004 | Dennis Anderson | Qualifying: 2nd (16.91) | Racing: defeated Blacksmith in the finals | Freestyle: 4th (30) | ||||
| 2005 | Qualifying: 5th (17.79) | Racing: defeated in the finals by Madusa | Freestyle: 11th (23) | |||||
| 2006 | Qualifying: 1st (16.19) | Racing: defeated Bounty Hunter in the finals | Freestyle: 2nd (33) | |||||
| 2007 | Qualifying: 7th (16.56) | Racing: defeated in the finals by Batman | Freestyle: 2nd (30) | |||||
| 2008 | Qualifying: 18th (17.78) | Racing: defeated in round 2 by King Krunch | Freestyle: 4th (30) | |||||
| 2009 | Qualifying: 20th (17.66) | Racing: defeated in round 1 by Air Force Afterburner | Freestyle: 11th (23) | |||||
| 2010 | Qualifying: 5th (16.03) | Racing: defeated Maximum Destruction in the finals | Freestyle: 15th (11) | |||||
| 2011 | Qualifying: 1st (15.69) | Racing: defeated in round 3 by Bounty Hunter | Freestyle: 21st (12) | |||||
| 2012 | Qualifying: 14th (16.78) | Racing: defeated in round 2 by Monster Energy | Freestyle: 10th (25) | |||||
| 2013 | Qualifying: 9th (16.678) | Racing: defeated in round 2 by Son-uva Digger | Freestyle: 11th (24) | |||||
| 2014 | Qualifying: 1st (16.229) | Racing: defeated in the semi-finals by Grave Digger the Legend | Freestyle: 29th (8.5) | |||||
| 2015 | Charlie Pauken | Qualifying: 11th (16.740) | Racing: defeated in round 2 by El Toro Loco | Freestyle: 3rd (30.5) | ||||
| Colton Eichelberger | Qualifying: 16th (16.867) | Racing: defeated in round 2 by Metal Mulisha | Freestyle: 17th (22.5) | |||||
| Dennis Anderson | Qualifying: 13th (16.785) | Racing: defeated in round 1 by Monster Mutt | Freestyle: 22nd (14.5) | |||||
| 2016 | Adam Anderson | Qualifying: 4th (15.940) | Racing: defeated in round 3 by Metal Mulisha | Freestyle: 1st (33) | ||||
| Cole Venard | Qualifying: 28th (16.834) | Racing: defeated in round 1 by Metal Mulisha | Freestyle: 4th (31) | |||||
| Dennis Anderson | Qualifying: 22nd (16.614) | Racing: defeated in round 2 by Max-D | Freestyle: 3rd (31.5) | |||||
| Morgan Kane | Qualifying: 2nd (15.899) | Racing: defeated Metal Mulisha in the finals | Freestyle: 16th (23) | |||||
| 2017 | Adam Anderson | Qualifying: 4th (16.236) | Racing: defeated in round 1 by Lucas Oil Crusader | Freestyle: 13th (7.390) | ||||
| Morgan Kane | Qualifying: 8th (16.389) | Racing: defeated in round 2 by Grave Digger (Tyler) | Freestyle: 6th (8.193) | |||||
| Randy Brown | Qualifying: 18th (16.732) | Racing: defeated in round 2 by Son-uva Digger | Freestyle: 11th (7.800) | |||||
| Tyler Menninga | Qualifying: 9th (16.435) | Racing: defeated in the finals by Son-uva Digger | Freestyle: 17th (7.105) | |||||
| Krysten Anderson | Double Down Showdown: defeated in round 1 by Saigon Shaker | |||||||
| 2018 | Adam Anderson | Qualifying: 21st (16.786) | Racing: defeated Grave Digger (Tyler) in the finals | Freestyle: 26th (4.728) | ||||
| Charlie Pauken | Qualifying: 27th (17.162) | Racing: defeated in round 1 by Mutant | Freestyle: 3rd (8.778) | |||||
| Morgan Kane | Qualifying: 3rd (16.281) | Racing: defeated in round 3 to FS1 Cleatus | Freestyle: 12th (7.209) | |||||
| Tyler Menninga | Qualifying: 10th (16.488) | Racing: defeated in the finals by Grave Digger (Adam) | Freestyle: 21st (5.801) | |||||
| Brandon Vinson | Double Down Showdown: defeated Pirate's Curse in the finals (however was disqualified for a red light violation) | |||||||
| Krysten Anderson | Double Down Showdown: defeated in round 1 by Soldier Fortune Black Ops | |||||||
| 2019 | Adam Anderson | Qualifying: 6th (13.272) | Racing: defeated in the semi-finals by Bounty Hunter | Skills: 8th (5.624) | Freestyle: 18th (6.656) | |||
| Morgan Kane | Qualifying: 14th (13.563) | Racing: defeated in round 3 by Grave Digger (Adam) | Freestyle: 20th (6.221) | |||||
| Tyler Menninga | Qualifying: 1st (13.103) | Racing: defeated in round 3 by Zombie Fire | Skills: 7th (6.644) | ATVs: 7th (5) | Speedsters: 4th (9 points) | Obstacle Course: 6th (8) | Freestyle: 15th (7.244) | |
| Randy Brown | Qualifying: 12th (13.531) | Racing: defeated in round 1 by Bakugan Dragonoid | Freestyle: 14th (7.480) | |||||
| Brandon Vinson | Qualifying: 17th (13.693) | Racing: defeated in round 1 by Monster Mutt Dalmatian Ice | Skills: 3rd (9.113) | ATVs: 4th (8) | Speedsters: 4th (9 points) | Obstacle Course: 8th (2) | Freestyle: 16th (7.237) | |
| Krysten Anderson | Showdown: defeated in round 1 by Kraken | |||||||
| 2022 | Adam Anderson | Qualifying: 7th (31.53) | Racing: defeated in round 2 by Grave Digger (Brandon) | Freestyle: 18th (6.358) | ||||
| Brandon Vinson | Qualifying: 10th (31.904) | Racing: defeated Son-uva Digger in the finals | Skills: 7th (6.119) | Freestyle: 22nd (0) | ||||
| Krysten Anderson | Qualifying: 22nd (33.02) | Racing: defeated in round 1 by Mohawk Warrior | High Jump: 8th (23.265 ft.) | Freestyle: 17th (6.515) | ||||
| Tyler Menninga | Qualifying: 3rd (30.971) | Racing: defeated in the semi-finals by Grave Digger (Brandon) (DNF) | Skills: 2nd (8.232) | Freestyle: 9th (7.788) | ||||
| Weston Anderson | Qualifying: 16th (32.214) | Racing: defeated in round 2 by Max-D | Freestyle: 13th (7.176) | |||||
| 2023 | Adam Anderson | Qualifying: 8th (20.312) | Racing: defeated in round 2 by Zombie | Freestyle: 11th (7.213) | ||||
| Brandon Vinson | Qualifying: 15th (20.667) | Racing: defeated in the semi-finals by EarthShaker | Freestyle: 22nd (5.785) | |||||
| Krysten Anderson | Qualifying: 23rd (21.747) | Racing: defeated in round 2 by Bad Company | Freestyle: 18th (5.917) | |||||
| Tyler Menninga | Qualifying: 20th (21.077) | Racing: defeated in round 1 by Lucas Stabilizer | Skills: 1st (7.126) | Freestyle: 10th (7.284) | ||||
| Weston Anderson | Qualifying: 12th (20.502) | Racing: defeated in round 2 by Megalodon | Skills: 8th (1.521) | Freestyle: 4th (8.137) | ||||
| 2024 | Adam Anderson | Qualifying: 7th (19.071) | Racing: defeated in round 2 by Wild Side | Freestyle: 21st (4.824) | ||||
| Tyler Menninga | Qualifying: 1st (18.501) | Racing: defeated in round 2 by JCB DIGatron | Skills: 3rd (8.388) | High Jump: 2nd (29.5616 ft.) | Freestyle: 1st (9.262) | |||
| Krysten Anderson | Qualifying: N/A | Racing: defeated in round 1 by ThunderROARus | Freestyle: 10th (7.483) | |||||
| Weston Anderson | Qualifying: 5th (18.921) | Racing: defeated in round 2 by Monster Mutt Dalmatian | Skills: 2nd (8.420) | Freestyle: 17th (6.278) | ||||
Monster Jam All Star/Superstar Challenge appearances[]
| Event | Year | Driver(s) | Appearance | Performance |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Monster Jam All Star Challenge | 2019 |
|
Main field | A. Anderson:
Menninga:
Pauken:
K. Anderson:*Racing (Day 1): round 2 loss (to Whiplash)
|
Video game appearances[]
- Monster Truck Wars
- Monster Truck Madness
- Monster Truck Madness 2
- Monster Truck Madness 64
- Monster Truck Madness (GBA)
- Monster Jam: Maximum Destruction
- Monster 4X4: Masters of Metal
- Monster Jam (video game)
- Monster Jam: Urban Assault
- Monster Jam: Path of Destruction
- Monster Jam (mobile game)
- Monster Jam Battlegrounds
- Monster Jam: Crush It!
- Monster Jam Steel Titans
- Monster Jam Steel Titans 2
- Monster Jam Showdown
TV Appearances[]
Grave Digger has made several non-Monster Jam television appearances, both official and unofficial:
- In the House, M.D. episode "Sports Medicine", characters Gregory House and Allison Caeron go to a monster truck rally and pass by Grave Digger, as House states that "Grave Digger never disappoints".[19] House is depicted as being a fan of monster trucks throughout the show, even driving one in a later episode.[20]
- As mentioned above, Dennis and Grave Digger 20, alongside several other trucks, appeared on America's Toughest Jobs in 2008. In the episode, Dennis attempted to coach several contestants on the basics of monster truck driving, from acceleration to tire-switching. However, because many of the contestants were very unfamiliar with monster trucks, they'd often fail these tasks, breaking a jack and nearly running over some officials; as a result, Dennis frequently got very angry at them, swearing several times and demanding that they get out of the trucks.[21]
- Dennis and Grave Digger 20 appeared on Late Night with Conan O'Brien's 2009 Halloween episode, where he crushed the world's largest pumpkin;[22] footage of this episode was later used to promote Cincinnati 2010.[23] Three years later, Conan would try to drive Grave Digger 22 himself and crushed an RV.[24]
- Dennis and Grave Digger 20, alongside Tom Meents and Maximum Destruction, appeared on Destroy Build Destroy in 2010. In the episode, Dennis and three teenagers built a coffin-shaped battering ram (nicknamed "GD 21") to compete against Tom and his team. Grave Digger won the competition, and Max-D's battering ram would be destroyed by an explosive briefcase.[25]
- In a Family Guy episode "Bri-Da", an unnamed, purple-flamed Grave Digger parody was briefly seen in a commercial for the 28th Annual Quahog Monster Truck Rally and Gun Show.[26] Grave Digger's name would also be mentioned in the episode "Carny Knowledge", with Brian Griffin's girlfriend Amber breaking up with Brian saying that he doesn't know any Kid Rock lyrics or monster truck names. Brian mistakes the truck's name as "Grave Maker", but Amber angrily corrects it, sounding like a "knockoff parody".[27]
- Grave Digger 38 would make its star appearance in the music video, "Miles On It" sung by Kane Brown and Marshmello. The truck would appear frequently in the video with Kane Brown and Marshmello dancing in front of it or sitting on top while partying with other pickup truck enthusiasts with their modified pickup trucks. A unique Grave Digger body would be made for the video, including songs by Kane Brown and Marshmello on the tombstones and the Monster Jam Logo and "Miles on It" on the roof.
Furter Reading[]
Trivia[]
- An official website based on and dedicated to Grave Digger used to exist, though it was closed in early 2017 and the URL now redirects to the truck's page on the official Monster Jam website. Despite its closure, archives of it are still accessible via the Wayback Machine.
- Each Grave Digger body is hand-painted and lettered by New Jersey native Jim McShea. It takes about fifty hours to complete each one.[28]
- As a result, no two Grave Digger bodies are the exact same. The fog designs are slightly different, just like the lightning designs on Blue Thunder.
- The original Grave Digger body cost $500 to be hand-painted by airbrush.
- In recent years, the bodies are painted using stencils to achieve a uniform look and continuity.
- The 25th anniversary chrome body took about 60 hours to spray completely chrome.[29]
- The tombstones on the side of Grave Digger represent many different things:
- Trucks that Grave Digger has defeated in racing throughout the years.
- Anderson family drivers that have competed in Monster Jam tours (Dennis on his own tombstone, Adam, Ryan, Krysten, and Weston on one tombstone).
- Spin Master (Hot Wheels prior to 2019), Monster Jam, Monster Jam's website, gravedigger.com (even after its closure) and Jim McShea's signature.
- Grave Digger is one of the few trucks to have competed in every Monster Jam season since the official start of the league in 1992. Additionally, Grave Digger is the only truck that has been released every single year in both the Hot Wheels and Spin Master Monster Jam toy-line. Along with El Toro Loco and Blue Thunder, the truck has also appeared in every Monster Jam video game to this day and is the only truck to be in every single game licensed by the USHRA, along with some other games, namely the Monster Truck Madness series.**By definition, this makes Grave Digger one of only two FELD-owned trucks that have officially been in the same game as Bigfoot, the other being Bulldozer.
- Grave Digger is also the only FELD-owned truck to be present at every Monster Jam World Finals, and is only one of two in total to make it to every Monster Jam World Finals event since its inception. The other is Avenger.
- Additionally, Grave Digger was the only truck to have both a Fire and Ice version, as well as a toy that is half-fire, half-ice.[30]
- Grave Digger's theme song, "Bad to the Bone" by George Thorogood and the Destroyers, is also the truck's motto. The tolling bell in the intro of "Hell's Bells" by AC/DC is also played before the truck comes out.
- However, this wasn't always the case. Its original slogan was "We ain't bad but the bad don't mess with us!!", then "We're not the baddest but the bad don't mess with us!", then later became "Bad to the Bone".
- Coincidentally, both the truck and its theme song were made in 1982.
- In 2002, an original theme song was written for the truck, named "Six Feet Under". It was made by Clear Channel Studio Musicians, who also made themes for Team Meents, Power Forward, and Gunslinger. Its only known use at an event was Fargo 2007,[31] though it was also featured in the end credits of the Grave Digger 20th Anniversary VHS.
- Grave Digger is the only "boss" truck in the Path of Destruction video game to have its real-life theme song; the rest of the soundtrack is made up of original compositions.[32]
- Grave Digger is one of the three trucks owned by FELD that was sold to them, rather than built by them. The other two are Bulldozer (prior to 2022) and Son-Uva Digger.
- Dennis Anderson was the only driver in the Grave Digger team to win multiple world titles until 2013, when Adam won his second title in Grave Digger the Legend. The truck has had a total of 8 world championship titles and the team as a whole has 14 championships as of 2023 (Adam has 5, Dennis has 4, Morgan, Charlie, Brandon, Tyler and Pablo all have one each).
- Grave Digger is also the only truck so far to have multiple drivers win Monster Jam World Finals championships in it (Dennis, Adam, Brandon Vinson and Morgan Kane). As of 2023, the Grave Digger team collectively has as many World Finals championships as Tom Meents does by himself.
- Grave Digger's mascot character, referred to as "Grim", was designed by former Senior Monster Jam designer Neil Vandenberg in the early 2000's.[33] Vandenberg has also created several different paint schemes for the truck, including the "Green Ghost" and Zombie designs, as well as the current logo.[34][35]
- Grave Digger's red headlights originally came from a school bus that Dennis was modifying into a hauling rig.[36]
- Grave Digger 37 was the first Grave Digger to debut overseas for the 2018 Latin American Tour.
- At SEMA 2017, Grave Digger's iconic ghost had flames added to its eyes and was displayed with its original zoomies.[37] A year later, for promoting a 2018 NBC special, Jim McShaw painted the NBC Logo on one of the tombstones of a Grave Digger body.[38] These designs were reverted back to normal and were never run at any events.
- While an official Grave Digger 13 was never built, 12 was actually the thirteenth chassis to run as Grave Digger because of Pablo running his second Jus' Show-N-Off chassis as a Grave Digger truck. Grave Digger "13" did not turn out unlucky after all, as it stood out for being Grave Digger's longest tenured tube chassis, and was the first to feature the updated paint scheme in 1997.
- Ryan Anderson is technically apart of the Grave Digger team, but is considered separate from its core members, running his own truck instead of another Grave Digger.
- The 2017 event in Riyadh was the most recent Monster Jam event to not have Grave Digger whatsoever, citing religious reasons.
- A Grave Digger Wild Trax truck was planned many years ago, but never came to be. It was mentioned by Dennis in the 25th Anniversary DVD. In 2023, an RC similar to the original idea was released by Spin Master in 2023.
Gallery[]
.png "Vlcsnap-2019-03-28-18h22m37s664 (51).png (1.34 MB)")
.jpg "Detroit Twite 012616 (9).jpg (302 KB)")
Logos[]
.png "Grave Digger (Pre 2008).png (380 KB)")
Designs[]
.jpg "Oakland 022016 Meyers (9).jpg (1.99 MB)")
.jpg "Fire.GDbbbb (1).jpg (492 KB)")
.jpg "20200721 105031 (1).jpg (819 KB)")
Merchandise[]
.jpg "2000 Grave Digger-Long (1).jpg (377 KB)")
.jpg "2004-2 05-Grave Digger (2).jpg (381 KB)")
.jpg "2010 24-Grave Digger Vintage (2).jpg (391 KB)")
.jpg "2001 Grave Digger Grain (3).jpg (349 KB)")
.jpg "2011 02-Grave Digger Grain-Gray (2).jpg (393 KB)")
.jpg "2011 02-Grave Digger Grain-Black (2).jpg (410 KB)")
.jpg "2012 SE-Grave Digger 30th (02).jpg (400 KB)")
.jpg "2006 47-Grave Digger (2).jpg (429 KB)")
.jpg "2007 12-Grave Digger (2).jpg (417 KB)")
.jpg "2012 Grave Digger 30th-Black (2).jpg (417 KB)")
.jpg "2016 59-Grave Digger (2).jpg (429 KB)")
.jpg "2014 SE-CS Grave Digger (2).jpg (410 KB)")
.jpg "2003 18-Grave Digger-Green (2).jpg (400 KB)")
.jpg "2004-2 05-Grave Digger-Grim (2).jpg (440 KB)")
.jpg "2005 33-Grave Digger (2).jpg (410 KB)")
.jpg "2014 SE-HW Grave Digger (2).jpg (443 KB)")
.jpg "2018 SE-SS 1-Grave Digger (2).jpg (417 KB)")
.jpg "2015 52-Grave Digger (2).jpg (427 KB)")
.jpg "2017 SE-25 Grave Digger (2).jpg (405 KB)")
.jpg "2018 GM01-Grave Digger (2).jpg (421 KB)")
.jpg "2010 Grave Digger (1).jpg (395 KB)")
.jpg "2010 SE-MD Grave Digger (3).jpg (444 KB)")
.jpg "2019 LT-Grave DiggerB (2).jpg (427 KB)")
.jpg "2020 RR Grave Digger (2).jpg (455 KB)")
.jpg "2019 SE-MP Retro Grave Digger (3).jpg (148 KB)")
.jpg "2021 RR Grave Digger (2).jpg (505 KB)")
.jpg "2019 SE-MP Retro Grave Digger (12).jpg (152 KB)")
.jpg "2019 SE-MP Retro Grave Digger (6).jpg (159 KB)")
.jpg "2021 AF Grave Digger 30th Anniversary (2).jpg (517 KB)")
.jpg "2019 AF-Grave Digger (2).jpg (154 KB)")
.jpg "WF Grave Digger (5).jpg (242 KB)")
.jpg "2022 LT Grave Digger (2).jpg (179 KB)")
.jpg "2022 SE Grave Digger 40th Anniversary (2).jpg (585 KB)")
.jpg "2019 TT-Grave Digger (2).jpg (150 KB)")
.jpg "2020 Fire & Ice Color Windshields (5).jpg (509 KB)")
.jpg "2020 SE ZH Grave Digger Son-Uva Digger (3).jpg (501 KB)")
.jpg "2021 SE GG Blue Thunder-Grave Digger (7).jpg (581 KB)")
.jpg "2022 Earth vs Surf W vs Grave Digger (7).jpg (189 KB)")
.jpg "2023 NN EarthShaker vs Grave Digger (7).jpg (182 KB)")
.jpeg "2021 SE Digger's Dungeon (2).jpeg (513 KB)")
.jpg "2022 Blonde to the Bone (2).jpg (187 KB)")
_(1).jpg "2020 WT Grave Digger (2) (1).jpg (453 KB)")
.jpg "2019 OC-Grave Digger (2).jpg (153 KB)")
.jpg "IT Grave Digger (2).jpg (237 KB)")
.jpg "2021 ET Grave Digger (2).jpg (490 KB)")
.jpg "2021 MC Grave Digger (2).jpg (481 KB)")
.jpg "2019 TFE Grave Digger (2).jpg (189 KB)")
.jpg "2021 SE TFE Grave Digger Ride (5).jpg (486 KB)")
.jpg "2022 SE TFE Grave Digger (7).jpg (436 KB)")
.jpg "2021 Grave Digger WF17 (1).jpg (511 KB)")
.jpg "2019 SE-Grave Digger (1).jpg (165 KB)")
.jpg "2022 Race Car Pack Grave Digger (4).jpg (134 KB)")
.jpg "1993 OM-Grave Digger (2).jpg (384 KB)")
Miscellaneous[]
.jpg "73409375 2291978894246815 8937397819908554752 n (1).jpg (45 KB)")
_1-38_screenshot_(1).png "Hot Wheels Highway 35 World Race Commercials (2002-2003) 1-38 screenshot (1).png (1.02 MB)")
Videos[]
References[]
- ↑ MONSTER TRUCKS MONTHLY NOVEMBER '98 -- BY TRUCKWORLD ONLINE! ® (archive.org)
- ↑ MONSTER TRUCKS MONTHLY February '99 -- BY TRUCKWORLD ONLINE! ® (archive.org)
- ↑ THE OFFICIAL WEBSITE OF MONSTER JAM - Results - 2007 - Prescott Valley, AZ (archive.org)
- ↑ https://youtu.be/lFw5YCYKBsk
- ↑ THE OFFICIAL WEBSITE OF MONSTER JAM - Results - 2009 - Grand Rapids, MI (archive.org)
- ↑ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V_GaeXnLky8&pp=ygUWd29ybGQgZmluYWxzIDEyIGVuY29yZQ%3D%3D
- ↑ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wKrRNaaWgiQ&pp=ygUXYmlnZm9vdCB2cyBncmF2ZSBkaWdnZXI%3D
- ↑ https://youtu.be/qLbJ1v8SiBI?t=137
- ↑ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SWo47vojZqk&pp=ygUfYWRhbSBhbmRlcnNvbiB0ZWFtIGdyYXZlIGRpZ2dlcg%3D%3D
- ↑ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IZhv0NaPI5A&pp=ygUcdGVhbSBncmF2ZSBkaWdnZXIgdGVhbSBtYXgtZA%3D%3D
- ↑ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jKSYJBxbidw&pp=ygUWZGVubmlzIGFuZGVyc29uIGluanVyeQ%3D%3D
- ↑ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tcb-PaT905w&pp=ygUWZGVubmlzIGFuZGVyc29uIGluanVyeQ%3D%3D
- ↑ https://youtu.be/wTAX2eojGu8?t=122
- ↑ https://youtu.be/plDF43RVZks?t=1547
- ↑ Next Qualifier for Monster Jam World Finals XX
- ↑ Monster Jam on Instagram: “Congratulations @brandonvinsongd on winning Monster Jam Triple Threat Series Central!...”
- ↑ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A_hHFkPzW88
- ↑ https://youtu.be/_jro97mdxiI?t=149
- ↑ https://youtu.be/X7Uzesrtj7w?t=367
- ↑ https://youtu.be/2t5WgH6Pvhk?t=225
- ↑ Compilation of Dennis getting angry: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tUTWpaNK43w
- ↑ NBC airing: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uYIX-2iP604
- ↑ Cincinnati 2010 promo: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vl8lCFXYQpI
- ↑ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E00esr6QGjE
- ↑ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y4QBKhCs-qA
- ↑ https://youtu.be/2vaLmPFT9cM?t=59; The description for this video names the wrong episode.
- ↑ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GpXl4GDRJw4
- ↑ https://wtop.com/entertainment/2022/06/monster-truck-driver-marks-40-years-of-grave-digger-as-monster-jam-revs-into-fedex-field/
- ↑ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IPgOWl063nE
- ↑ File:2020 Fire & Ice Color Windshields (5).jpg
- ↑ Fargo 2007 footage: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2DlASx39Dqg
- ↑ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eMSDYJ92wWc
- ↑ https://www.instagram.com/p/Cm26Yp2jsde/?hl=en
- ↑ Green Ghost mention: https://www.instagram.com/p/Cp1hiCdN2sS/?img_index=1
- ↑ Zombie: https://www.instagram.com/p/CIyjE7Whs0E/?hl=en
- ↑ https://youtu.be/PFKrqtVr7QY?t=1109
- ↑ Ghost with flaming eyes: File:Sema1.jpg
- ↑ NBC tombstone: File:IMG 8158.jpg